BitTorrent Inc. is heading towards a full-scale implementation on the Tron blockchain by the end of 2020. CEO of the Tron Foundation, Justin Sun, recently affirmed that the launch of the BitTorrent File System Testnet has gone live as of July 1, 2019.
Following the announcement, BitTorrent Token (BTT) price shot up by over nine percent. Even though BTT was ranked well below the 30th position by market cap on the cryptocurrency ladder, it managed to enter the top-30 for a brief period. It has since slid back down to the 34th position, with a market cap of approximately $318 million.
BitTorrent File System (#BTFS), will launch on Testnet in 2 days, 1st of July, 2019 (PDT). #BTFS represents the 1st truly viable and scalable implementation of a decentralized storage system that can be used by #dapp developers. #BitTorrent #BTT pic.twitter.com/bndYsRIuah
— Justin Sun🌞 (@justinsuntron) June 30, 2019
The BitTorrent File System
The BitTorrent File System (BTFS) is a file-sharing network based on peer-to-peer storage and the sharing of digital content in a decentralized manner. Built on top of the Tron blockchain, the BTFS ecosystem will include other components such as the TronGrid Service and BTT. The TronGrid Service enables developers to connect with the Tron blockchain.
BTFS involves a decentralized system of storage and sharing as opposed to a client-server network model. With BitTorrent’s solution, the exchange of information and data takes place between peers. These peers act as both ‘service providers’ as well as ‘service requesters.’ Service providers are expected to provide information and data to service requesters for a fee, which is paid in BTT.
The BitTorrent team came up with BTFS because of the growing size of the network and the cons that could arise from not having a more compact and secure solution. Sun discussed these issues with Yahoo Finance saying,
“We’re creating a platform with BTFS, BitTorrent Speed blockchain integration and the BTT utility token to let users quickly and privately interact with each other around the world without a middleman or government intervention.”
BTT: An incentive for Data sharing?
BitTorrent was acquired by Justin Sun for an estimated $140 million in June of 2018. Tron has significant leverage of BitTorrent’s 150+ million user base. The integration would substantially help BitTorrent in shaping a more decentralized web where users have control over their privacy and ownership of content.
BTT is one of the first tokens to work on Tron’s TRC-10 protocol. The companies claim that the protocol will foster faster speed on the world’s largest decentralized application. The token will be the unit that denominates transactions for the provision of different services throughout the BitTorrent ecosystem.
According to Sun and BitTorrent, getting rid of a single centralizing entity in favor of peer-to-peer sharing of information is the first step towards using the internet as an even better repository of information. The fact that BTFS incentivizes peers by offering them BitTorrent Tokens will ensure, albeit only in theory so far, that access to information is made simpler without the intervention of any third-party or middle man.
Do you think that the adaptation of a free market in the realm of data sharing will help improve the quality of information on the internet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.